The Date with a Surprising Ending (Chapter Eighteen)
Haley smiled when she opened her door and Chad Holmes stood there with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. "Thanks," she said as he handed them to her. He nodded. She left to give them to her mother who promised to put them in water. She walked out of the house and followed Chad. "So, where are we going?" she asked as he put the car into gear and pulled out of her driveway.
"A party at Brooke's, actually," he said. Haley laughed at him.
"No, seriously," Haley said. He just looked at her.
"I'm not kidding," he insisted. Haley shuddered at the memory of the last party she'd been to. It had ended horribly and this party didn't look very promising, but she would try to make the most of it.
Nathan sat down on a random couch in someone's house. He knew it wasn't Brooke's. He'd been to her actual house. "Hey, Nathan. How are you doing?" Peyton asked, sitting down beside him.
"Peachy," he replied sarcastically. Peyton couldn't help but crack a smile. That was the first time she had ever heard him say that.
"Just trying to make conversation," she said as he glared at her.
"Pick another question," he said.
"I guess you've seen Haley and Chad," Peyton said. He looked at her in annoyance.
"Thanks for reminding me," he said.
"Please. Like you could ever forget seeing your ex-girlfriend on the arm of some slime," she said, laughing. He looked at her in amazement.
"You're really not good at cheering people up, you know," he said. Peyton smiled.
"I'm not trying to cheer you up, Nathan. I'm trying to get you to smarten up," she said. He looked at her in confusion. "You know that Haley isn't happy with Chad. Half the room can tell that she's getting pretty angry about the fact that he's drinking and hanging out with his jerk friends all the time. There's actually a pool on when she'll burst," Peyton said. That cracked a smile.
"What does that have to do with me?" he asked, shrugging.
"Nathan, don't be stupid. You know you love Haley. You keep looking over there every ten seconds," she said.
"No, I don't," he said.
"You just did it," Peyton pointed out.
"You're imagining things," he said.
"Am I also imagining Haley looking at you?" she asked. Nathan looked at Haley instantly. Haley looked away from him. Peyton laughed. "I should get my head examined then," Peyton said, nodding to herself.
"No. You're a genius," he said, shaking his head and Peyton laughed.
"Well, go over there and talk to her," she said. He was about to when he saw Haley walk over to Chad. She was talking to him angrily. He shrugged and she stomped off. She approached them. "Peyton, can you please drive me home?" she asked, looking quite upset. Peyton shook her head. "Sorry, Hales. Jake is my ride and he's outside playing basketball with some of the guys so I might never get out of here," Peyton said.
"I'll drive you if you want," Nathan said.
"No, that's ok. You should stay and enjoy the party," Haley said.
"No, I was just about to leave. This party is boring. They're not as fun as they used to be. I think Brooke might be losing her touch," Nathan said. Peyton laughed.
"Don't let her hear you say that," Peyton warned, still chuckling.
Nathan took Haley by the hand and led her outside. They got into the car without a word and Nathan started driving. A few minutes later, Haley laughed. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"I can't believe I went out with that asshole," she said.
"Why?" he asked.
"The date was worse than the last time I went to one of these parties," she said, chuckling. He smiled at that because he knew that the last time he had been an ass to her. At least fifteen minutes passed as Nathan pulled into Hale's driveway.
"Haley," Nathan started. Haley looked at him in confusion. "Did you go out with Chad to make me jealous?" he asked. Haley widened her eyes.
"No. Why would you think that?" Haley asked. He sighed.
"Well, because I get the idea that you still have feelings for me," he said.
"Well, of course I do," she said. He was shocked that she had the guts to admit it.
"You do?" he asked.
"Well, those feelings just don't go away, Nathan," she said. Without thinking, Nathan leaned over and kissed her. Haley responded to the kiss and pulled Nathan closer to her. Somehow they ended out of the car, into Haley's empty house, up the stairs and into her room. The next morning, Haley opened her eyes groggily and widened them when she saw that she was on someone's bare chest. She looked down at herself and realized that she wasn't wearing anything. Then, she looked up and saw Nathan asleep. His arms were pulled around her, pinning her to his body. It finally dawned on her that they had slept together.